942 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



is raising fancy pigs to sell for breeding stock will want March 

 pigs, and those who keep old sows and raise two litters a year 

 will want the first litter in this month; but I would advise that 

 when young sows are used as breeders coupling be delayed so 

 as to bring the pigs from the middle of May to the middle of 

 June. These pigs, if well fed, will make good pig pork at six 

 months old, or they can be wintered and turned on clover in the 

 spring, and kept for fattening the coming autumn at seventeen 

 or eighteen months old. I think they will make nearly as 

 large and profitable hogs as they would if born in March, when 

 the risk and care would be much greater. With large, well- 

 developed sows, I believe it will pay to raise two litters a year. 

 The cost of keeping a large sow a year is considerable, and a 

 fall litter will usually pay for it. A September pig will require 

 a little better care through the winter than one born in the 

 spring; but I have rarely failed to keep them thrifty, and to 

 make them profitable. When two litters are to be raised it will 

 pay to give extra care to the sow and her pigs, so as to be able 

 to wean the spring litter at six weeks old. 



If the second litter comes as early as the first of September 

 it will be all the better. I would not breed a yearling sow for 

 a second litter unless she lost the first one, for to nurse two 

 litters of pigs in a year is too heavy a tax on a growing animal. 

 I have tested this matter fully, and find that the young sow 

 that raises a spring and fall litter never attains the size or per- 

 fect development that she is capable of. After a sow is two 

 years old she may, if properly cared for, be bred regularly 

 every six months, and can be made one of the most profitable 

 animals on the farm. 



There are several noted sows in my neighborhood that have 

 been bred for some years, and whose pigs can always be sold 

 at high prices. 



I addressed letters to the owners of two of them, requesting 

 that they give me the facts for publication. 



No. 1, called Bess Stibbins, has raised eight litters of pigs, 

 averaging six to the litter, and forty-five of these have been 

 sold for $2,350; and three on hand, which are proving as 



